North Shore Hwy 61

The Grand Portage community is really stepping up when it comes to health and nutrition. Programs and activities on the reservation are bringing people together to live healthier lives.

One of the catalysts for change is the new tribal Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), which was launched last year by seven tribes in the state, said April McCormick, Grand Portage SHIP coordinator.

Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Mille Lacs, White Earth, Leech Lake, and Red Lake are also in partnership with the SHIP program to improve health in their communities through reducing the burden of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

The aim of the many programs and projects through SHIP is to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and reduce the use or exposure to commercial tobacco, she said.

This isn’t a topdown program, by any means. It is specifically tailored to each tribal community through partnerships and community organizations as well as public input and a community health team, she said.

There are four “settings” that are the focus of the program: health care, school, community and work sites. In Grand Portage, for example, McCormick organized community forums about health issues and what changes people would like to see in Grand Portage. One of the top priorities? Be able to buy good quality, fresh, organic produce locally. As it happened, Rob Hall, who manages the Grand Portage Trading Post, was at the meeting and he asked what people would like to buy.

“There were a lot of different suggestions —organic salad mixes, more fresh produce,” McCormick said. “In the next week or so there was fresh organic baby lettuce and baby spinach at the Trading Post. It was really neat to see that.”

And, Hall said in a telephone interview, that there has been good community support for the enlarged produce section. McCormick is quick to point out that the SHIP program isn’t taking credit for this. Instead, she said, “we’re creating that space where the community can have a voice and come together.”

That “voice” has really focused on gardening in the community garden at Mineral Center, encouraging children at the Oshki Ogimaag, the tribal charter school, to develop a community to school gardening program as well as grow seeds for local gardeners in the Elderly Nutrition Program’s greenhouse.

A School Wellness Council with Headstart, Day Care and the charter school has been formed and “they are actively involved with nutrition,” McCormick said.

She is also working closely with the Community Health Team, comprised of more than 22 community members and professionals. Jaye Clearwater, who works in nutritional education and Patty Winchell Dahl, director of the ENP, are on the committee as are youth, adults and elders, she said. It provides a great local perspective so that the Grand Portage SHIP will be responsive to community needs.

The Elderly Nutrition Program’s Winchell Dahl said the SHIP program is very important. “It’s a nice collaborative effort,” she said. “We have elders who are sitting in on the meetings. They are a core group of people who are giving (McCormick) information. It helps support what we’re trying to do and opens it up to a wider audience.”

SHIP is also meeting with employers and developing wellness goals and activities for their employees as well as coordinating programs with the tribal-based health services to improve access and referrals to members of the community.

McCormick said that the best thing about the tribal SHIP grant is that each community can implement it in its own way. It makes the program stronger and, hopefully, sustainable for future generations.

“Someone might be working on a walking trail, someone else might be working with their health care system,” she said.